Histories of the Holy Land Podcast
The Histories of the Holy Land Podcast has the guts to survey the most provocative historical narrative in the world. Israel and Palestine is a land of immense religious significance. Everyone has an opinion on it. But what is the true story of this beautiful but contested country? From the dinosaurs to the hi-tech era, we will chronologically survey the history of the land. The podcast will provide the only complete and factual narrative out there. So, join us.
Histories of the Holy Land Podcast
Latest Episodes
60 - The Last Philistine
In 604 BCE, a Philistine king wrote a desperate letter to the pharaoh of Egypt. It was written not in his ancestors' Aegean tongue, but in Aramaic. The letter made it to Egypt. The help never came. Within weeks, Nebuchadnezzar turned Ashkelon i...
59 - The Five Lords: How the Philistines Governed a Civilization
Every kingdom in the ancient Near East had a king. The Philistines said no thanks. Instead, they brought something from the Aegean: five cities, five lords, collective rule. Their rulers weren't called kings. They were called seranim,...
58 - Philistine DNA: The Infant, the Swan, and 700 Dogs
In 2013, archaeologists found an infant buried beneath a family's floor. When they extracted DNA from those tiny bones, they found a genetic signature that appeared out of nowhere, and then vanished within a few generations. An entire peo...
57 - Graves of the Sea People
Ever heard of a graveyard where the coffins are shaped like humans—some lifelike, others downright bizarre? In this episode, we dig into the secrets of the Philistines at Beit Shean: a crossroads of kings, conquerors, and cultures. It’s b...
56 - Were The Philistines Migrants or Invaders?
The first portrayal of the Philistines can be seen in the reliefs of the Medinet Habu monument. It shows their warriors, but also their women and children on ox-carts. They came to conquer, but also to live. They fought and contributed cultural...